“I cannot understand how you can steer a major DAX company into a crisis that threatens its very existence, and then defend your own bonuses in a public debate,” Schäuble said in an interview in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

“It shows that something is not right,” Schäuble said.

The interview comes after Volkswagen revealed its top executives were paid €63.2 million for 2015. The company’s board announced it would freeze 30 percent of bonus payments for the year, but may decide to repay them if company performance recovers in three years.

In 2015, Volkswagen admitted 11 million of its cars were equipped with software that detected if they were being tested and temporarily reduced emissions. This allowed them to temporarily meet standards set by environmental protection agencies while releasing more pollutants during normal driving conditions.